The 18-Year-Old Vet

ENLARGE

Devils rookie forward Stefan Matteau, who is the son of ex-Ranger Stephane Matteau.
NHLI/Getty Images

By

Dave Caldwell

Updated Feb. 7, 2013 10:49 p.m. ET

NEWARK, N.J.—Stefan Matteau, an 18-year-old rookie left wing, was on the ice for the opening face-off of the Devils' game Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. His linemates were Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk. Any left wing would love that assignment.

Kovalchuk made the difference in a 4-2 victory with his short-handed goal that was also his first goal in seven games. But it was also a big night for Matteau--just by playing his sixth game. The season will count a full year against his entry-level contract.

"He's going to get better every game," Zajac said.

Adam Henrique scored again for the Devils (6-1-3), and Andy Greene and Patrik Elias scored third-period power-play goals against the unraveling Lightning (6-4-0).

Matteau didn't score his first NHL goal in 10 minutes of ice time, although Kovalchuk set him up for a first-period tap-in that the 6-foot-6 Tampa Bay goaltender Anders Lindback barely stopped with his right pad.

Matteau still could be sent to their minor-league affiliate in Albany or even back to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League if the team decides he needs more polishing.

But Matteau is now one year closer to restricted free agency, which will come after his current three-year deal expires. Then there is unrestricted free agency, where the big bucks are—as ex-Devil Zach Parise showed last summer when he got a 13-year, $98 million deal from the Minnesota Wild.

Players are eligible for unrestricted free agency when they have played seven years or are 27. For Matteau, that will be age 25.

"I don't think by us playing him in this game, it was a lifetime contract or a guarantee he was going to be here for the next 40 games," Devils coach Peter DeBoer said of Matteau. "He's still learning, but there's a lot there to work with."

Matteau is the son of Stephane Matteau, who scored an overtime goal in Game 7 against Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur that lifted the Rangers into the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. Stefan Matteau was 3 months old.

Matteau grew into a punishing, 215-pound power forward who spent two seasons in the U.S. Development Program. After the Devils took him in the first round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Matteau scored 18 goals in 30 games this year for Blainville-Boisbriand, where his father is an assistant coach.

He joined the Devils for training camp and played in their first five games. Then he was scratched for four games as the organization pondered what to do about his contract. He tried to remain stoic.

On Tuesday, before the Devils played the Rangers, Matteau said, pleasantly, "I show up every day, I work hard, and I'm just taking it day by day."

Except for playing, he did everything else that his teammates did, including traveling to road games. His limbo could have lasted all year, he said. But he said he was enjoying himself, and learning a lot.

"I think I'm a good hockey player, but I'm not that good," he said. "These guys are good—and these guys are the best in the world. It's been a really big difference."

But he also felt that the longer he was with the Devils, the more he belonged. That also became apparent to his teammates.

"He's going to be a good player," Henrique said. "He's a big guy, a good skater, can shoot the puck. He just keeps things simple, which I think is important early in your career."

Matteau played because 34-year-old forward Dainius Zubrus was injured Tuesday. DeBoer said he considered other lineup options besides Matteau. "This is the best option," DeBoer said.

DeBoer told Matteau on Thursday to work hard, keep his game simple and have fun. Matteau admitted he had been wondering—"a little bit," he said—if that sixth game would ever come. But it did. Now he must produce.

"I know what it means, the whole contract thing," Matteau said, "but it's not a guarantee that I'm going to stay here the whole year."

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